Concentration lapse while driving - Share yours

This is a discussion on Concentration lapse while driving - Share yours within Drive Safe, part of the Road Safety category; Originally Posted by siddartha
while trying to read an sms and foolishly trying to reply to that sms , i ...

June 07 went to pick a friend and his family for a stay over at my place; picked them up at MG Road on the way back at Koramangala I got a call just took my eyes off to check the name of the caller and a Innova braked hard in front of me some 200 mtrs away. I braked hard to but the car just carried on and skidded into the Innova; damage to Innova none; I had to spend 45 K to get my Wagon R done.

I termed it as my fault to take my eyes off to check on the call; the Innova chap blamed a Rick who swered from no where in front of him; but 200 mtrs was good enough for me to stop; It took another accident (this time my wife was driving) to check the actually cause of both the back to back accidents was oil leak in the brake drums which left the brake pads wet.

Had gone to Pune in the night with my cousins to see the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati.

Had not managed much sleep for last two days, so cuz drove from Mumbai to Pune. I took over the wheel in the morning, when returning to Mumbai. Midway, we decided to head off to Lonavala. So took the Lonavala exit ramp and entered the town. All was well till then. Suddenly, I dozed off for an instant!

My cuz, who was sitting beside me, shook me awake. He said that the car had veered and we were heading straight for two people walking on the side
Luckily, the speed wasn't much because we had just come off the exit ramp!

Gave him the wheel right then and there. And swore never to drive again when feeling drowsy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramkya1

I find the time, post-lunch, around 1-3 the most vulnerable time for me, specially if the road is good.

Spot on Ramky. Also one of the reasons why I avoid heavy lunches when on the highway.

Another very vulnerable time is just after you have done the 'most difficult' part of the drive, e.g. after a particularly difficult ghat section. I find my concentration level dips ever so slightly then. I have to remind myself to up my game.

Place: Kuwait. Year 1992. Just finished a major turnaround work which was critical and had to put in 32 straight hours and was driving back home from refinery. It was a Mitsibishi-2000 Pickup truck and i was all alone. Had the music on and was driving on King Fahad Expressway.
Here I must tell you about this highway. its about 40 km stretch of almost straight road, with no intersections / traffic lights and 4 lane freeway. (Where Local Kuwaitis do their Lambos and Ferraris at 270+ speedies in the night).. Obviously I was driving on the opposite to peak hour traffic with barely any cars on the road. Tried to control myself from dozing, singing along loud, managed for about 25 minutes. Didn't know when I dozed and the car was slowly swerving to the right.
I was doing 140 kmph and God saved me, there were these service line rumbles all along the highway and the truck suddenly started jumping vigorously. Got back to senses, found I was on the right service lane, very close to end of the road ditch.
Stopped the car right there and rubbed my face with wet tissues. Just waited there 10 minutes and then proceeded along. Next thing I did was to take the next exit and go through busy roads, to keep myself awake.
(Of course, never told my wife what happened...!)

This was in the year 2004, i suppose. My roomie and I decided to ride down to Vijaywada from Hyderabad which is a 6-7 hour journey by road. This was one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions, which wouldnt really matter if it had been at some other time of the day.

In our case, the plan was made at 11PM, and few arrangements later, we were off. Since we were unprepared in terms of sleep gearing up for the journey, it was only natural that sleep came knocking in bursts.

We hit the highway with me in control. Soon we were clocking the miles merrily, except for the occassional high beams which really blinded. High in the spirit of adventure, i wanted to accomplish a feat of riding non-stop to our destination.

Somewhere along the way, sleep .. or the lack of it, was really beginning to take its toll on me. But who was i to give in?! We lumbered along.....

Some time later, I dont really remember much, except for my roomie who was riding pillion tapping me on my leg. Upon opening my eyes, to my horror i noticed a Volvo charging towards us, while trying to overtake another bus. He had his lights in full beam, and i was nearly blinded. Quick reflexes made me decide to move off the road with the bike, and we escaped.

Apparently, i had dozed off without even realizing it. Had my roomie also dozed, that sleep would have been eternal for both of us. Had he shrieked and scared me, we would still have been dead meat. Presence of mind saved the day, and we lived to tell the tale.

Needless to say, we stopped and rested for a while, while my roomie toom over from there.

I own a accent viva 2003 model. Bought this red beast probably 6 months back through one of my friend. Being a new driver to chennai city, I used to drive patiently and most of the time concentrate on the following

1) Using side mirrors and centre rear view mirror (donno the exact name) to make sure am not disturbing others.

2) Shift appropriate gears and presume every other driver as a reckless driver (Very cautious).

3) No over speeding

4) On heavy traffic I used to give enough distance in the front to avoid frontal collision.

5) Use Indicators to ensure no body is hitting my car from behind.

But on one fine day, I was a bit upset about something and was driving to my office from ashok nagar to IT corridor road. Obviously, it was peak hour traffic and I was a bit down on concentration. Was driving in middle lane near madhya kailash, and a guy in santro suddenly switched (amidst traffic) lane with out seeing his RVM. Unfortunately, I had a break hard and take a sudden left to avoid accident. That time, I happened to hit a biker probably in a speed much less than 5 KM\Hr.

Normally, I would anticipate people to switch lanes with out proper indication. But because of lapse in concentration I ended up in hitting a biker who was driving correctly.

This happened in Delhi. I am a relatively new to driving cars and the incident happened the first time I took out my new Alto to drive to my office about 40 kms away.

I took the ring road, crossed the Dhaula Kuan flyover and was going ahead at a reasonable speed. A little distance ahead there were a couple of bus stops and I knew that ahead of the bus stops, a flyover started ascent and that I had to take left and not climb the flyover.

I crossed the bus stop and a Blueline took off from the stop just at that moment. The bus and I were driving at the same speed for some distance. For those who are not aware, Blueline buses are notorious for their rash driving in Delhi and not a day goes by without their getting involved in some accident that takes lives.

Anyways, as I was speeding ahead, I forgot the fact that I had to avoid the flyover and remembered at the very last moment. In a fit, I decided to accelerate and move ahead of the Blueline, overtake it and avoid the flyover. Climbing the flyover would have meant an extra 5 kms which I wanted to avoid. I sped and cut in front of the bus barely 4 feet away from the flyover railing.

I could hear the Blueline screech but decided not to look back. I could also hear the bus conductor / cleaner / helper shouting after me. I then slowed down a paused at the traffic signal. The bus was on the flyover and he actually stopped to shout down at me and give me a mouthful.

I took a minute to get my breath back before starting to drive again. When I look back now, I realize what a stupid thing I did and what the result could have been "Blueline crushes Alto." - the papers would have shouted.

Since then, I have decided on one thing. Never to rush on the road. If there is a car honking behind me, let it pass. If a signal is about to turn orange or red, do not rush. An additional few minutes on the road wouldn't harm me. And I recollected what my grandfather used to tell me...

Anyways, as I was speeding ahead, I forgot the fact that I had to avoid the flyover and remembered at the very last moment. In a fit, I decided to accelerate and move ahead of the Blueline, overtake it and avoid the flyover. Climbing the flyover would have meant an extra 5 kms which I wanted to avoid. I sped and cut in front of the bus barely 4 feet away from the flyover railing.

I could hear the Blueline screech but decided not to look back. I could also hear the bus conductor / cleaner / helper shouting after me. I then slowed down a paused at the traffic signal. The bus was on the flyover and he actually stopped to shout down at me and give me a mouthful.

When I look back now, I realize what a stupid thing I did and what the result could have been "Blueline crushes Alto." - the papers would have shouted.

Dude, you were seriously lucky there, and completely in the wrong. Remember, it was you who had to cut across him to avoid going on the flyover. No wonder he mouthed off at you.

We all forget turns and exits some time. In such cases NEVER PULL A LAST MINUTE MOVE. PLEASE. Traveling a few extra kilometers is by far the better option. Far better than becoming a statistic in the papers.

...cut in front of the bus barely 4 feet away...
Since then, I have decided... Never to rush on the road. An additional few minutes on the road wouldn't harm me...
"Start early, go slowly, reach safely."

Hey travelwriter: lesson learnt early, and to be remembered for ever... esp. before your trip to the Garhwal Himalayas in May. You ought to also go through all the driving tips on this forum and elsewhere on the net, esp. those related to hill driving. May lady luck always protect you like this...